It is known that an optical signal can be modulated by an electrical signal, for example a Pockels cell, or by a mechanical signal, such as a diaphragm or a pivoting mirror. Since light has an increasing importance in telecommunications and in data processing, methods are required by which an optical signal can be modulated by another optical signal. However, the results obtained by photo-refractive crystals on laboratory scale must still to be confirmed in practice.
The invention aims to propose an optical modulator, the modulating signal of which is also optical. According to the invention, this aim is achieved by an optical modulator such as defined in the main claim.
Preferred features of an embodiment of this modulator are defined in the secondary claims.
The invention will now be described more in detail by means of three figures.